Making Your Way to the Virtual Classroom
by Jo Gibson
Picture this: Although it is 2 A.M. and you are sound asleep, one of your students is at a perfect “teachable moment,” having moved through and comprehended a set of requisite previous lessons. Although you are not physically present and cannot see the alert and questioning look that indicates this student’s readiness to proceed, you are in fact present for that student at that exact moment. You’ve made the next lesson available; the student proceeds to the next lesson, completes it, tests his or her comprehension, and then discusses the lesson, conceptually, with a couple of other nightowls who happen to be taking the same class.
While this may not be a typical scenario for most of us, this is nothing new for Adjunct Instructor of Instructional Technology at Cuyahoga Community College and Academic Mentor/Advisor, Distance Learning at Myers University, Nancy Wozniak. She understands how the e-college environment works.
“It’s not just that we make the lessons and coursework convenient for our students. That’s not enough. The key element that makes web-based distance education successful is finding ways to make the personal connection and create an active environment. In my virtual classrooms, I make sure I’ve got a busy discussion board, and I identify the student leaders who’ll reach out to create interest groups. I even make sure we have forums where students can go to unload and vent—just like they would do at the campus coffee shop on a traditional college campus. In my virtual classroom, we call it the ‘Whine and Cheese’ area!”
Indeed, in days to come more and more full- and part-time faculty will want to become just that at ease in and knowledgeable about creating and teaching in the virtual classroom. For the fact is, on college campuses, we now construe the term “distance education” almost solely to indicate Web-based, on-line education. After 1992, the year that marked the coming of the World Wide Web, the explosion in technology was so immense that anyone with a computer, anyone with a Web browser, in short, just about anyone on any campus anywhere seemed suddenly to be primed and ready for distance education. Other, earlier forms of distance education do continue, and they serve an important function (e.g., correspondence courses, satellite learning, videoconferencing). But it would be naïve not to acknowledge that there has been a sea change.
At Penn State, Dr. Gary Miller, Associate Vice President for Distance Education, World Campus, has been along for the whole wild ride.
“I’ve seen the metamorphosis first-hand. In the past—and not so many years ago—distance education might have meant that we would offer some non-credit telecourses. And that was fine. Today, there’s been a real shift. Universities are making it possible for students to earn post-baccalaureate degrees in a completely on-line environment.”
Miller points out that at Penn State, for example, a student might obtain a Master of Adult Education totally on-line. And, echoing Wozniak’s experience, Miller points out that interaction is what makes it work.
“Especially at the graduate level,” he notes, “good courses are much more than text. They use the Web to bring people together around discussions of ideas and collaborative problem-solving.”
Given that distance education is tied to burgeoning and still-changing technology, it’s the wise adjunct faculty member who seeks to understand something of the rudiments of that technology. There are two broad categories for delivery of distance education, synchronous (real-time) and asynchronous (no simultaneous participation). The asynchronous model dominates; however, in the best of all possible worlds, both can be seen to have advantages.
At the University of Tennessee, Knoxville Campus, for instance, “Undergraduate students in particular want the ‘anytime, anywhere’ asynchronous model,” says Robert Jackson, Assistant Dean for Technology and Development and Director of Distance Learning and Independent Study. He continues, “Yet as they get more sophisticated, they want more. Our graduate students in particular want a blend of asynchronous with the ‘anywhere, real-time’ synchronous model. We like to spoil our students! Our goal is to blend both delivery systems. We believe that will give us the best quality and make student-student and student-teacher interaction easy.”
If just reading the word “asynchronous” makes you want to retreat to your lecture notes and overhead transparencies, hold on a minute! Help isn’t far away. First of all, colleges and universities which are moving towards the e-learning environment purchase aptly termed “course management system” software programs. These CMS systems, such as Blackboard and WebCT, are a vital part of creating a secure and user-friendly e-classroom. Instructors do not need to know how to create Web pages nor do they need to have any knowledge of HTML; once assigned a username and a password, they will be guided through course development.
Instructors can create and post the syllabus (and update it) and learning objectives; develop learner profiles for students; post the lessons and follow-up quizzes and practice exams; administer mid-term and final exams and then make the results available; keep a running curve for grades; have shared materials on-line for ready access; set up a chat room and a bulletin board, and so on.
If the technology is one part of creating a successful learning environment on-line, the other, equally important component is that the educational institution offer the right kind of support. For one best-case scenario, take a look at the University of Louisville, where use of the on-line environment is strongly encouraged to enhance teaching and learning. The only requirement is that instructors who want to use Blackboard (the CMS) come to the Delphi Center for training. At present, there are over 1,000 classes at the University with a Blackboard component; over 300 are in session, and 27 are being taught fully on-line. That’s a success story! William E. Myers, Director, Delphi Center, focuses on the instructor’s needs.
“Our biggest concerns,” he says, taking a broad look at what’s needed, “are providing a basic understanding of the technology, attending to the individual needs of the instructor, and reinforcing our role in supporting the instructor throughout the design, development, and implementation of their on-line course.”
For another model of technical support, consider Park University. Founded in 1875, Park’s 40 campuses, most of which are on military installations, include one totally on-line campus. Three graduate degrees (Education, Business Administration, and Public Affairs) are offered completely on-line, as are six degree-completion programs for nontraditional students. Many of these courses are taught by adjunct faculty. Linda Passamaneck, Director of On-line Learning, arrived at Park University after a career with a CMS developer. At Park, Passamaneck points out, distance education works because “Support begins at the very top. Everyone here is incredibly supportive, from Dr. Byers-Pevitts’s [Dr. Beverley Byers-Pevitts is President of Park University] on down.”
What makes it work so well at Park, as at the University of Louisville, is the training.
“We make sure three critical elements are in place,” Passamaneck says. “First, the instructor must know the course and must have taught it face-to-face. Second, our instructors complete an eight-week on-line training course in the course management system we use, VCampus. Last, and maybe most important, we recognize that everyone has a different learning curve. So every new on-line instructor has a mentor, a ‘guide on the side,’ to use as much or as little as wanted.”
As can be seen, a growing number of institutions of higher learning are adopting on-line distance education, and, for course development and classroom management, are employing CMS tools and training faculty in their use. For those adjunct faculty who hope to extend their marketability by teaching in the virtual classroom, here are some tips:
Take advantage of all the training in the technology that you can get.
For example, keep up with generic foundation computer skills training (knowledge of databases, networking fundamentals, Web site design) that local continuing and professional education schools offer, as well as the very specific (and often comprehensive) courses that your university or college would offer relative to their specific Course Management System.
“Right now,” Dr. Donald G. Perrin, Editor of the United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA) Journal, states, “there is a lot of good technology available. Many instructors often do not have the training and experience to utilize the power and options available to them with on-line technology, however. They need training to survive in this competitive market, and they need training for their students to survive! Training, mentoring, and performance-based rewards will make a substantial difference.”
Initially, he admits, technology does require more faculty time. But rest easy. Perrin predicts that, over time, the technology is going to become more user-friendly.
“In the near future,” he believes, “the technology will be transparent and intuitive. Instructors will find themselves able to interact freely, without the need for technology training.”
Look for ways to incorporate a distance education component in every course you teach.
At the University of Louisville, Dr. Arnold Karpoff, Professor of Biology, uses Web-based technology to supplement his Biology 102 lectures.
“Biology is a very visual subject. In the past, multimedia was cumbersome. I would need to stop, shut lights off, cue up the videotape or transparency. Now, with my laptop and the Web, I can move from lecture to picture or from lecture to video to make a point. This creates a ‘seamless’ teaching style.”
Karpoff also uses the Web to administer, grade, and post the curve for the quarterly exams. With this technology, 700+ students have access to their grades in less than 24 hours.
Enjoy your successes.
At Texas A&M, with its nine campuses and wide-open spaces, they define distance education this way: “Whatever it takes!” “In the 1960’s,” says Dr. Rod Ham, Assistant Director of the Center for Distance Learning Research, “that meant we used radio, satellite feeds, and correspondence courses to reach our students. In the 1990’s and beyond, it’s the virtual classroom.” Now in active partnership with corporate entities like Verizon and linked to over 500 school districts and community colleges throughout the state, Texas A&M recently celebrated its 10th anniversary of Web-based distance education.
“We are reaching students we have never been able to reach before,” Ham says. “We are absolutely having a good time!”
Of course, you’re going to want to learn as much as you can about distance education, in the way that best suits you. For some, that will mean a Web browser, a favorite search engine, and a key term (such as course management system [CMS]); others will look for the right book for the library shelf (e.g., try Digital Learning Communities: Current Issues and Best Practices forthcoming from Information Age Publishing, Inc. in 2003 [edited by Sorel Reisman Ph.D., Senior Editor, John Flores Ph.D., Associate Editor and Denzil Edge Ph.D. Associate Editor], an in-depth examination of how electronic learning communities are created through use of the Internet for instruction and training).
But rest assured that you already have the most important elements at the ready.
Adjunct faculty are characterized by (albeit possibly of necessity) their energy–an energy born of knowing and loving their areas of expertise and of relishing the opportunity to teach. So the bottom line is understanding that the focus in the term “distance education” is on the “education” component. You’re educators, first and foremost, and, as Dr. Denzil Edge, President and CEO of The Learning House, Inc., an e-learning service company, reminds us, with vigor and passion: “Good pedagogy is good pedagogy. It’s the same on-line as it is face-to-face.”
